Free Skull and Burgundy Wildflowers Hand Embroidery Pattern PDF
An ivory anatomical skull sits among burgundy poppies, purple daisies and hanging violet bellflowers. Five bats cross the open fabric, four corner spiderwebs frame the flowers, and small gold stars punctuate the background. This free skull and burgundy wildflowers hand embroidery pattern comes with printable outlines, a separate DMC color and stitch guide, and optional gridded references. Use the color preview to plan the finished look, then choose a labeled outline size for your project.
Advanced / 3-8 inch outlines / 16 suggested DMC colors
About This Skull and Burgundy Wildflowers Embroidery Pattern
The skull is the light central anchor rather than a solid black silhouette. Dark eye sockets and fine tooth divisions contrast with soft bone shading, while the flowers overlap its sides without hiding the jaw. Teal and sage leaves cool the wine-colored petals. The corner webs create a loose square around the otherwise rounded floral arrangement, leaving clear fabric between the bats and stars.
The most demanding details are the fine teeth, shaded cheekbones and delicate web intersections. Plan those areas before dense fills: the colored reference shows their relative scale, while the outline locates their edges. Preserve the spaces between neighboring motifs so each part of the composition remains distinct.
Skull and Burgundy Wildflowers Embroidery Pattern Preview
This public preview is watermarked. The clean black-and-white outlines are inside the printable pattern PDF below.
What You'll Get
- An eight-page printable pattern PDF with a colored sample and clean outlines labeled 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 inches.
- A separate 16-color DMC guide with suggested stitches, motif-specific thread placement and stitching order.
- A two-page pixelized reference PDF with 150 x 150 and 200 x 200 image grids.
These are digital PDF resources. Fabric, floss, needles, hoops and a finished stitched piece are not included.
Recommended Hoop Size
The supplied stitch guide recommends 8 inches / 20 cm. The outline PDF includes pages labeled for 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8-inch hoops; a recommendation larger than 8 inches does not mean an additional outline size is included.
Use the larger outline for the fine teeth, shaded cheekbones and delicate web intersections. Smaller versions compress these details and may need a simplified stitch plan. The PDF is formatted on Letter paper and its printing note says to select fit to page. Measure the printed design before transferring it, because printer margins can change the finished dimensions.
Pattern Difficulty
Advanced, as labeled in the supplied guide. The fine teeth, shaded cheekbones and delicate web intersections require controlled spacing and clean edges, while the filled motifs need consistent stitch direction. Practice the relevant stitches on spare fabric before starting the detailed areas; this is not presented as a first-stitch beginner pattern.
Suggested DMC Colors
The supplied guide proposes 16 DMC colors, combining winter white and ecru bone tones, garnet and mauve petals, antique violet flowers, teal-sage leaves and old-gold accents. Treat this as a suggested palette rather than a guarantee that a screen or print preview exactly matches physical thread.
- DMC 3865: skull highlights and teeth.
- DMC 902: deep burgundy petal folds.
- DMC 924: deep teal foliage.
Check the complete thread-to-motif assignments and strand counts in the PDF, and compare important shades with your actual floss under your stitching light.
Recommended Embroidery Stitches
These stitch choices summarize the supplied guide's recommendations for this design. Follow the PDF for exact thread placement and strand counts.
- Long-and-short stitch: skull planes and layered flower shading.
- Backstitch: teeth, web spokes and fine contours.
- Fishbone stitch: leaf clusters.
- French knots: flower centers and small gold dots.
How to Stitch This Pattern
This short sequence follows the design's structure; use the included guide alongside the full-size outline.
Step 1
Transfer the skull centerline, eye sockets, jaw, main flowers, five bats and four corner webs before placing small stars.
Step 2
Shade the skull from pale bone tones into the sockets; keep individual teeth separated with fine dark lines.
Step 3
Build the burgundy poppies and violet flowers, then stitch the teal-sage stems and leaves without closing the gaps between them.
Step 4
Fill the bats, complete fine web rings and add gold stars and compact flower-center knots last.
Before finishing, inspect the fine teeth, shaded cheekbones and delicate web intersections, secure the thread ends and check for puckering. Remove transfer marks according to the marking product's instructions. See pattern transfer methods and finishing an embroidery hoop for the general techniques.
Download the Free Skull and Burgundy Wildflowers Embroidery Pattern
The three PDFs are available separately. The clean outlines are included in the main pattern PDF.
Printable pattern and clean outlines
Eight pages: a colored sample, printing information and outlines labeled for six hoop sizes.
2.8 MBDMC color and stitch guide
The supplied 16-color guide includes motif assignments, stitch suggestions and a stitching sequence.
2.4 MBOptional gridded visual reference
Two pages of image-based grids at 150 x 150 and 200 x 200 cells. This is separate from the hand-embroidery outline.
0.1 MBOptional Gridded Pattern
The pixelized PDF overlays a grid on the colored reference image. It includes versions labeled 150 x 150 and 200 x 200 stitches, with the following fabric-count dimensions printed in the file.
| Grid | 14-count Aida | 16-count Aida | 18-count Aida |
|---|---|---|---|
| 150 x 150 | 27.2 cm / 10.7 in | 23.8 cm / 9.4 in | 21.2 cm / 8.3 in |
| 200 x 200 | 36.3 cm / 14.3 in | 31.8 cm / 12.5 in | 28.2 cm / 11.1 in |
These dimensions describe the grid, not the outline hoop sizes. The image grids are visual references; they do not provide a symbol-by-symbol DMC cross-stitch key. For ordinary surface hand embroidery, use the clean outline and the separate stitch guide instead.
Skull and Burgundy Wildflowers Embroidery Pattern FAQ
Is this a hand embroidery pattern?
Yes. The clean outlines and stitch guide are for surface hand embroidery. The gridded reference is a separate optional resource.
What hoop sizes are included?
The outline pages are labeled 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 inches. The stitch guide recommends 8 inches / 20 cm for this design. Measure your print before transferring.
Are DMC colors and stitch suggestions included?
Yes. The separate guide contains a 16-color suggested palette and motif-specific stitch instructions for Skull and Burgundy Wildflowers.
What skill level is this design?
The supplied guide labels it advanced. Allow time for the fine teeth, shaded cheekbones and delicate web intersections rather than treating it as a simple beginner outline.
Is this a machine embroidery file or a physical item?
No. These are downloadable PDFs, not machine-ready PES, DST or other stitch files. No physical item is shipped.